TT 2018: Bosses alter red flag procedure after course car collision

Isle of Man TT bosses have announced a change to the red flag procedure following an incident involving Steve Mercer and a course car following a stoppage in Wednesday’s practice session.

Mercer and the car were involved in a head on collision as he and a number of other riders were heading back to the Grandstand following Dan Kneen’s fatal crash on the opening lap of yesterday’s practice.

While it remains unclear as to how this incident happened, a change to the procedure has been issued to ensure such events cannot be repeated.

From now on, any red flag will apply to the entire TT course and there will be no movement permitted on the course in any direction until the incident is cleared.

A statement from TT organisers ACU Events Ltd read: “Gary Thompson, MBE, Clerk of the Course, Isle of Man TT Races has confirmed that following the collision which involved the Course Inspection Car and a rider during Wednesday evening’s Superbike Qualifying session, the following procedure will now take place with immediate effect:

“A Red Flag instruction will apply to the entire TT Mountain Course irrespective of where that incident has occurred. There will be no movement on the TT Mountain Course by any rider until the incident has been cleared, regardless of how long that incident may take to clear.

“The riders will only be permitted to move in Course direction under the control of Travelling Marshals at the front and rear”